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\«5M
LITTLE PILLOWS
r
By MISS F. R. HAVERGAL.
POEMS— -Containing "Under the Surfac*.,*
"Ministry of Song, "Under His Shadow," "Loyai,
"Responses," and Miscellaneous Poems. Square ibma,
with Portrait and Illustrations. 2 Vols. Cloth, $3.00;
cloth, gilt edge, $4.00.
POEMS— Complete in I Vol. 4to. Fully illustrated.
Cloth, $5.00 ; morocco, $io.co.
KEPT FOR THE MASTER'S USE. Eightieth
Thousand. Illuminated paper covers, 30 cents; cloth, 25
cents. Fine edition, red edge, 50 cents.
THE ROYAL INVITATION; or, Daily
Thoughts on Coming to Christ. Thirty fifth Thousand.
Paper covers, 20 cents ; cloth, 25 cents. Fine edition, rei
edge, 50 cents.
MY KING; or, Daily Thou.ghts for the
King's Children. Sixty-Second Thousand. Paper covers,
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ROYAL COMMANDMENTS; or, Morning
Thoughts for the King's Servants. Fiftieth Thousand.
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ROYAL BOUNTY; or, Evening Thoughts for
the King's Guests. Fiftieth Thousand. Paper covers,
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the King's Minstrels. Fortieth Thousand. Paper covers,
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STARLIGHT THROUGH THE SHADOWS,
and Other Gleams from the King's Word. Illuminated
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F"OR CHILDREN
MORNING BELLS : Being Waking Thoughts
for the Little Ones. Fiftieth Thousand. Paper cover
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LITTLE PILLOWS: Being Good -Nigh
Thoughts for the Little Ones. Sixtieth Thousanu.
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His Little Ones. A beautiful little volume of daily read-
ings for the young. Paper covers, 20 cents ; cloth, 25 cents.
Any of these books will be sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of
advertised price.
E. P. DUTTON & CO., Publishers, New York.
>
L
LITTLE PILLOWS
OR
WD-NIGHT THOUGHTS FOR THE
LITTLE ONES
By FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL , /S56.—
' THOUSAND.
NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
CONTENTS.
How "Little Pillows" came to be written. . 5
1. "Come unto Me" 9
2. "Accepted in the Beloved" II
3. ".I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy
transgressions " 14
4. "I have loved you, saith the Lord". . . 17
5. "He that keepeth thee will not slum-
ber " 19
6. " The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity
of us all " 22
7. "Peace through the blood of His cross" 24
• 8. "Whiter than snow". 27
9. " Ask what I shall give thee " 30
10. " Forget not all His benefits " 33
11. "It is God which worketh in you, both
to will and to do " 36
12. "O Lord, Thou knowest " 38
13. " When the Comforter is come " 41
14. "What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee?" 44
15. " This same Jesus " 47
3'A< >24 '..
4 Contents.
16. " Come and see " 49
17. " Told Him all things" 52
18. "Our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for
us" 55
19. "Is it nothing to you?" 57
20. " Yea, He is altogether lovely " 60
21. " Behold, He cometh ! " 63
22. " Now then do it " 66
23. " I have called thee by thy name " 69
24. " That day when I make up my jewels " 71
25. " He giveth more grace " 74
26. "Shall never thirst" 77
27. " I will be surety for him " 80
28. "He shall go over before" 83
29. "At Thy right hand there are pleasures
for evermore " 86
30. " This is the promise that He hath prom-
ised us, even eternal life " 89
31. "Hath He said, and shall He not do
it?" 92
HOW "LITTLE PILLOWS" CAME
TO BE WRITTEN.
A LITTLE GIEL was away from
home on a week's visit. We will
suppose her name was Ethel. The first
night, when she was tucked up in bed,
and just ready for a good-night kiss, I
said, "Now, shall I give you a little
pillow?"
Ethel lifted her head to see what was
under it, and said, "I haze got one,
Auntie !"
"It was another sort of pillow that I
meant to give you; I wonder if you will
like it?"
So then Ethel saw it was not a ques-
tion of feathers and pillow-case; still
she did not understand, and so she
6 Little Pillows.
laughed and said, "Do tell me at once,
Auntie, what you mean; don't keep me
waiting to guess!"
Then I told her that, just as we
wanted a nice soft pillow to lay our
heads down upon at night, our hearts
wanted a pillow too, something to rest
upon, some true, sweet word that we
might go to sleep upon happily and
peacefully. And that it was a good
plan always to take a little text for
our pillow every night. So she had
one that night, and the next night.
The third night I was prevented from
coming up till long after Ethel ought
to have been asleep. But there were
the bright eyes peeping out robin -red-
breast fashion, and a reproachful little
voice said, "Auntie, you have not given
me any little pillow to-night! "
" Then, do you really care about hav-
ing the little pillows given you, Ethel?"
" Oh, of course I do ! " was the answer.
She did not seem to think there could
Little^ Pillows. 7
possibly be any doubt about it. Cer-
tainly the way in which she said that
u qf course!" showed that she had no
doubt about it!
So it seemed that perhaps other little
ones would like to have "little pillows"
put ready for every night. For even
little hearts are sometimes very weary,
and want something to rest upon; and
a happy little heart, happy in the love
of Jesus, will always be glad to have
one of His own sweet words to go "to
sleep upon.
So here are thirty-one " little pillows,"
not to be used all at once, nor even two
at a time, but one for every night in the
month. The little texts are so short,
that they will need no learning; but
when you have read the explanation,
you will be able to keep the text quite
safely and quite easily in your mind.
Bead the little book before you kneel
down to say your evening prayers, be-
cause I hope what you read will always
IO Little Pillows.
heavy enough to sink you down into
hell, unless Jesus takes it from you.
So it is to you that He says " Come ! "
And lest you should think He says
it to grown-up people only, He said,
" Suffer the little children to come unto
me." Are you a little child? Then it
is to you that He says " Come 1 "
" If He were here, and if I could see
Him, I should like to come." He is
here, as really and truly as you are.
Suppose your mother and you were in
a dark room together, and she said,
" Come to me ! " you would not stop to
say, "I would come if I could see you."
You would say, "I am coming, moth-
er!" and you would soon feel your
way across the room, and be safe by
her side. Not seeing her would not
make any difference.
Jesus calls you now, this very night.
He is here, in this very room. Now,
will you not say, "lam coming, Lord
.J^sus!" and ask Him to stretch out
Little Pillows. n
His hand and help you to come, and
draw you quite close to Himself ?
Yes, to Himself, the blessed, beloved
Lord Jesus, who loved you and gave
Himself for you, who has waited so pa-
tiently for you, who calls you because
He wants you to come and be His own
little lamb, and be taken up in His arms
and blessed. Will you keep Him wait-
ing any longer ? Will you not " Come " ?
"Will you not come to Him for life?
Why "will ye die, oh why ?
He gave His life for yon, for you !
The gift is free, the word is true !
Will ye not oome ? Oh why will ye die ? "
2.
ACCEPTED.
"Accepted in the Beloved."— Era. i. 6.
WHO is "accepted in the Beloved "?
You, if you have come to your
heavenly Father, asking him to receive
12 Little Pillows.
you for Jesus Christ's sake. Dear little
one, wanting to know that you are saved
and forgiven, take all the beautiful com-
fort and joy of these words ! They arc
for you just as much as for any grown-
up person.
Ask Him now to give you faith to be-
lieve them for yourself, while you try
to understand what they really mean
for you.
Suppose a king came and proclaimed
among a number of poor children that
he would take any one to stay with
him in his beautiful palace, who really
wished to go and asked him to take
them. Suppose you heard this, and
wished the king would take you. Then
the king beckons .you, and you ven-
ture near; and then the prince royal
himself comes and leads you up to his
father, and tells you to say what you
want, and you say, " I do want to go,
please take me I " Will the king break
his word and not take you ? Why, in
Little Pillows. 13
the first plaice, he never bieaks his
promise. And then he beckoned you
himself, and that was what made you
go. And then the prince, who is his
beloved son, took your hand and
brought you; and would the king
send the little one away whom he
brought? There can be no mistake
about it; he can not have rejected you,
and said he will not have you, so you
must be " accepted."
So every one who has come to Jesus,
even if only a little girl or boy, is " ac-
cepted in the Beloved." Accepted, be-
cause God has said, "I will receive
you." Accepted, because He Himself
has called and drawn you, or you never
would have wanted to come. Accept-
ed, because the Beloved One has made
the way open for you to come by His
own blood, and saves all that come un-
to God by Him. Accepted, not be-
cause you were worth God's accepting;
but " accepted in the Beloved."
14 Little Pillows.
"Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breas*,
There, by His love o'ershadowed,
Sweetly my soul shall rest
Hark ! 'tis the voice of angels,
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Oyer the jasper sea."
3.
THE RED HAND.
1 I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy. trans-
gressions." — Isa. xliii. 25.
THERE was once a deaf mute, named
John. Though he never heard
any other voice, he heard the voice of
Jesus, knew it, loved it, and followed it
One day he told the lady who had
taught him, partly on his fingers and
partly by signs, that he had had a won-
derful dream. God had shown him a
great black book; and all John's sins
Little Pillows. 15
were written in it, so many, so black !
And God had shown him hell, all open
and fiery, waiting for him, because of
all these sins. But Jesus Christ had
come and put His red hand, red with
the blood of His cross, all over the
page, and the red hand, the dear red
hand, had blotted all John's sins out;
and when God held up the book to the
light, He could not see one left!
Now His sweet word to you to-night
is, "I, even I, am He that blotteth out
your transgressions." Will you believe
it? "Only believe," and "according to
your faith it shall be unto you." It is
no fancy or mere feeling, but God's
truth, that Jesus Christ's blood has
been shed, — nothing can alter that;
and that His precious blood blotteth
out our transgressions; as St. Paul says
(CoL ii. 14), "Blotting out the handwrit-
ing of ordinances that was against us."
And oh how much there is to blot
out! — sins that you have forgotten, and
1 6 Little Pillows.
sins that you did not think were sins at
all, besides those yon know of — to-day,
yesterday, all the past days of your little
life. And all these written in His book !
Do you want to have them blotted
out forever? Do you pray, "Blot out
mine iniquities?" do you want to know
that they are blotted outl Then take
His word about it, and just believe
that it is true, and true for you — "I
have blotted out as a thick cloud thy
transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins:
return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee."
"I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
Trusting only Thee;
Trusting Thee for full salvation,
Great and free. ,
<«
I am trusting Thee for cleansing
Through the crimson flood;
Trusting Thee to make me holy
By Thy blood."
Little Pillows. ij
4.
GOD'S LOVE.
• I have loved you, saith the Lord." — Mai* i 2
IS not this a sweet pillow to rest upon
to-night? But a pillow is of no use
if you only look at it; that does not rest
you. You must lay your head down
upon it, and then you rest. So, do not
only think, "Yes, that is a very nice
text"; but believe it, and lay your
heart down restfully upon it; and say,
"Yes, He loves me!"
How different these words are from
what we should have expected! We
should have expected God to say, "I
will love you, if you will love me." But
no ! He says, " I have loved you." Yes,
He has loved you already, poor little
restless heart, that wants to be loved !
He loves you now, and will love ycu
always.
1 8 Little Pillows.
But you say, "I wish I knew whether
He loves me! " "Why, He tells you so ;
and what could He say more ? There
it stands — " I have loved you, saith the
Lord." It is true, and you need only
believe it, and be glad of it, and tell Him
how glad you are that He loves you.
But you say, " Yes, I know He loves
good people; but I am so naughty!"
Then He has a special word for you:
" God commendeth His love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us." He says nothing
about " good people," but tells you that
He loved you so much, while you were
naughty, that He has sent the Lord
Jesus, His own dear, dear Son, to die
for you. Could He do more than that?
He says in the same verse (Mai. i. 2),
"Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved
us ? " Wherein ? herein ! not that you
loved God, but that He loved you, and
sent His Son to suffer instead of you.
When you lie down, think how many
Little Pillows. ig
answers you can find to that question,
"Wherein hast Thou loved us?" See
how many proofs of His love you can
count up; and then go to sleep on this
soft, safe pillow, "I have loved you,
Baith the Lord ! "
"I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the book He has given,
Wonderful things in the Bible I see;
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
"Oh, if there's only one song I can sing
When in His beauty I see the great King;
This shall my song in eternity be,
* Oh, what a wonder, that Jesus loves me 1'"
6.
GOD'S CARE.
"He that keepeth thee will not slumber."
Ps. cxxi. 3.
SOMETIMES little children wake in
the night, and feel lonely, and a
tittle bit afraid. This is not because of
20 Little Pillows.
the darkness; for if others are with
them, talking and moving about, they
do not mind it at all. But it is the still-
ness, the strange silence when every
body is fast asleep.
Every body? No! The One who
loves you best of all is watching you
all the time; the One who careth for
you never sleeps — "He that keepeth
thee will not slumber." He is there
all the time, never leaving you one
moment alone, never going away at alL
It makes no difference to Him that it is
very dark, for "the darkness and the
light are both alike to Thee." And all
through the dark hours He "keepeth
thee "; keeps you from every thing that
could hurt or even frighten you, so
that you may safely and quietly take
the sweet sleep He- gives you.
He "keepeth thee"; only think who
is your Keeper ! the mighty God, who
can do every' thing, and can see every
thing. Why need you ever fear with
Little Pillows. 21
such a Keeper? It is very nice to
know that "He shall give His angels
charge over thee to keep thee "; but it
is sweeter and grander still to think ,
that God Himself keeps us. As if He
wanted us to be very sure of it, and to
leave us no excuse for ever being afraid
any more, He even says it three times
over, "He that keepeth thee will not
slumber." "Behold, He that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. ,:
"The Lord is thy Keeper." What
could He say more?
Now what will you say to Him if you
wake in the night and feel lonely in the
stillness ? Will you not recollect what
a pillow He has given you to-night to
rest upon, and say to Him, " I will trust,
and not be afraid " ?
'He will take care of you I All through the
night
Jesus, the Shepherd, His little one keeps:
Darkness to Him is the same as the light;
He never slumbers and He never sleeps."
22 Little Pillows.
6.
WHAT CHRIST BORE FOR US.
* The. Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity ol
as alL"— Isa. liii. 6.
WHERE are your sins ? Wherever
they are, God's terrible punish-
ment must fall Even if there were only
one sin, and that one hidden away down
in your heart, God's wrath must find it
out. and punish it It could not escape.
But you know of many more than
one; and God knows of more stilL
And so the great question for you is,
Where are they? If He finds them on
you, His wrath must fall on you. But
if they are put (somewhere else, you are
safe, for He loves you, and only hates
your sins. Where can that wonderful
" somewhere else " be ? To-night's text
tells you that God laid them on Jesus.
Why did His terrible wrath fall on His
Little Pillows. 23
beloved, holy Son? Because He had
laid our sins on Jesus, and Jesus took
them, and was willing to bear them, so
that all the dreadful punishment might
fall on Him instead of us. Instead of
you, dear little one !
When the great drops of blood fell
down to the ground from His beloved
head in Gethsemane, it was because the
Lord had laid on Him your iniquity.
When He hung by His pierced hands
and feet upon the cross, alone in the
great darkness of God's wrath, it was
because He was bearing your punish-
ment, because your sins were laid upon
Him, so that they might not be found
upon you, and punished upon you.
Satan will try to persuade you not to
believe that your sins were laid upon
Him, and will try to keep you always
doubting it; but God says they were !
Which will you believe?
Again look at the solemn question,
H Where are your sins?' and then look
24 Little Pillows.
at Jeans, suffering and dying for you,
and answer boldly, "On Jesus! for 'the
Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity 61
us all/"
* * And so He died ! And this is why
He came to be a man and die:
The Bible says He came from heaven,
That we might have our sins forgiven.
4 'He knew how wicked men had been,
He knew that God most punish sin;
So, out of pity, Jesus said,
He'd bear the punishment instead."
7.
PEACE THROUGH BLOOD.
"Peace through the blood of His cross."
Col. i 20.
IF you had been disobedient and
naughty to your dear mother, you
would feel that there was something
between you and her, like a little wall
Little Pillows, 25
built up between you. Even though
you knew she loved you and went on
doing kind things for you as usual,
you would not be happy with her; you
would keep away from her, and it would
be a sorrowful day both for her and for
you. For there would be no sweet,
bright peace between her and you, and
no pleasant and untroubled peace in
your own heart. .
The Lord Jesus knew that it was
just like this with us, that there was
something between us and God instead
of peace, and this something was sin.
And there never could be or can be
any peace with God while there is sin,
so of course there never could be any
real peace in our hearts. We could
never take away this wall of sin; on
the contrary, left to ourselves, we only
keep building it higher and higher by
fresh sins every day. And God has
said, that "without shedding of blood
there is no remission," that is, no for
26 Little Pillows.
giveness, no taking away of sins. Now
what has Jesus Christ done for us?
He has made peace through the blood
of His cross. He is the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world;
and the sin was what hindered peace.
Look at His precious blood shed to
take away your sins! Do you see it,
do you believe it? Then there is noth-
ing between you and God, for that
bleeding Hand has broken down the
wall; the blood has made peace, and
you may come to your heavenly Father
and receive His loving forgiveness, and
know that you have peace with God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
"Precious blood that hath redeemed us,
All the price is paid !
Perfect pardon now is offered,
Peace is made.
* Precious blood, whose full atonement
Makes us nigh to God !
Precious blood, our song of glory,
Praise and laud !
Little Pillows. 27
"Precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Ever flowing free !
Oh believe it, oh receive it,
'Tis for thee ! "
8.
«
"WHITER THAN SNOW."
"Whiter than snow."— Ps. li. 7.
BUT snow is whiter than any thing
else ! Especially if you saw it
glittering in the sunshine on the top of
a high mountain, where no dust can
ever reach it. Mortal eyes have seen
something as white as snow, for the
raiment of the angel of the resurrec-
tion was " white as snow " ; and the
shining raiment of the Lord Jesus on
the Mount of Transfiguration was " ex-
ceeding white as snow." But what can
be made "whiter than snow " ?
"Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow I " What, me? my naughty,
28 Little Pillows.
sinful self? my soul so stained with sin,
that I can not make it or keep it clean
at all? Yes, "i" shall be whiter than
anow " if God washes me.
But water will not do this, and tears
will not do it. Only one thing can do it,
but that does it surely and thoroughly.
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanseth us from all sin."
This is "the fountain opened for sin
and for uncleanness"; and ever since
the precious blood was shed, it has
always been open. It is open now,
this very evening, ready for- you to be
washed in it, and made "whiter than
snow."
Do not stop short at thinking a little
about it, but go to your heavenly Fa-
ther, and ask Him to wash you in the
precious blood of Christ.
Be vMing to be really washed. Do
not be like some little children, who
do not wish to have a clean white frock
put on, because they know they can not
Little Pillows, 29
go and play in the dirt Be willing not
to go back to the dirt any more.
And then let Him wash you; do not
just say the words, and get up from
your knees, and think no more of it; but
put your very heart into His hands, and
look at the precious blood of Jesus, and
wait and ask Him to show you how really
it was shed for you, and how really it
cleanses from all sin. And then you
will be ready, like the Samaritan, to
fall down at Jesu's feet, "giving Him
thanks " for having washed even you.
•• Precious, precious blood of Jesus,
Let it make thee whole !
Let it flow in mighty cleansing
O'er thy soul.
"Though thy sins are red like crimson,
Deep in scarlet glow,
Jesu's precious blood can make them
White as snow."
30 Little Pillows.
9.
ASKING.
♦Ask what I shall give thee."— II Chbon. i 7.
HPHERE had been a grand day in
1 Israel The young King Solo-
mon had spoken to all the people,
and to all the great men and captains
and governors, and they had followed
him to the tabernacle of the Lord, and
he had gone up to the brazen altar
which Bezaleel had made nearly five
hundred years before, and had offered
a thousand bumt-oflferings. "In that
night," when it was all over, and Solo-
mon was quiet and alone, "did God
appear unto Solomon, and said untc
him, Ask what I shall give thee." And
Solomon took God at His word, and
asked at once for what he felt he want-
ed most And God kept his word, and
gave him at once what he asked, and
kittle Pillows. 31
promised him a great deal more be-
sides.
This is the message to you to-night,
M Ask what I shall give thee."
Think what you most want, and ask
for that, for Jesus Christ's sake. You
need not, like Solomon, ask for only
one thing; you want many things, and
you may ask for them alL And God
will give — He always does give to the
real askers — more than you ask, more
than you ever thought of asking.
Perhaps you say, "I don't know what
to ask." Then begin by asking Him to
show you by His Holy Spirit what you
really want, and to teach you to ask
for it.
Then you say, "Will He give me
whatever I ask?" Well, if you ask
something which is not good for you,
He loves you too much to give you
that! but He will give you something
better. But if you ask for something
that He has promised to give, you may
32 Little Pillows.
be quite certain He will give it you.
Remind your heavenly Father of His
promises, as Solomon did (ver. 9). And
you may ask and expect the answer at
once, like Solomon, who said, "Now, O
Lord God ! " and " Give me now ! "
Then listen to God's message, and
now, this very evening, ask Him for
some of His promised gifts. And when
you lie down, try to think of the differ- x
ent things which He has promised, and
which you want, and turn every thought
into the prayer, " Give me now — for Je-
bus Christ's sake."
"Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much."
Little Pillows. 33
»
IO.
GOD'S BENEFITS.
'Forget not all His benefits."— Ps. ciii. 2.
IF some kind friend made you a pres-
ent of twenty dollars to buy all
sorts of things with, would you not feel
rather hurt if he thought it necessary
to say to you, "Do not forget that I
gave you this " ? Of course you would
not forget, you could not possibly be
so ungrateful. But what if, after all,
you had forgotten, and had all your
nice things around you without ever
recollecting him, would it not touch
your heart if he came again and said
very gently, "Do not forget"?
I need not tell you Who and what I
mean. You know! Have you been
forgetting all His benefits, forgetting
to thank Him for them, just as if they
had all come of themselves? Oh, ask
34 Little Pillows.
Him now to forgive you this sin of
forgetfulness, for Jesus Christ's sake!
But now that He has reminded you
and forgiven you, ask Him for the
Holy Spirit to help you to recollect
His benefits instead of forgetting them.
"His benefits" means all the good
things He has done for you, and all
the good things He has given you.
Try to count up " His benefits " of this
one day; and then think of those of
yesterday, and last week, and all the
year, and all your life since you were
a little baby ! You will soon find that
there are more than you can count,
and you will begin to see how very
much you have to thank Him for.
And then recollect His still greater
benefits — the great gift of Jesus Christ
Himself to be your Saviour and Re-
deemer, and the great gift of salvation
through Him, and all His promises of
grace and glory !
David speaks of "the multitude of
Little Pillows. 35
His tender mercies," and Isaiah tells
of "the multitude of His loving-kind-
nesses." Are not these true and beau-
tiful words ? Will you not turn them
into a song of thanksgiving, and say,
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget
not all his benefits: Who crowneth
thee with loving-kindness and tender
mercies 1"
"Now my evening praise I give;
Thou didst die that I might live;
All my blessings come from Thee,
Oh how good Thou art to me !
"Thou, my best and kindest Friend,
Thou wilt love me to the end;
Let me love Thee more and more,
Always better than before."
36 Little Pillows.
11.
WILLING AND DOING.
"It is God which worketh in yon, both to
will and to do of His good pleasure." — Phil.
ii. 13.
RATHER a hard "pillow" to-night,
you think! But it is what will
make many hard things quite easy for
you.
Have you not found it hard to be
good? hard to keep from saying some-
thing naughty that you wanted to say?
very hard to keep down the angry feel-
ing, even if you did not say the angry
word? hard to do a right thing, be-
cause you did not at all like doing it,
and quite impossible to make yourself
wish to do it? You asked God to help
you to do it, and He did help you; but
did you ever think of asking Him to
make you like to do it?
Little Pillows. 37
Now, this is just what is meant by
God's "working in you to will" It
means that He can and will under-
take the very thing which you can not
manage! He can and will "take your
will, and work it for you"; making you
want to do just what He wants you to
do; making you like the very things
that He likes, and hate just what He
hates.
It is always easy to do what we like
doing; so, when we have given up our
will to Him, and asked Him to work it
for us, it makes every thing easy. For
then we shall ward to "do according
to His good pleasure," and we shall
be very happy in it ; because trying
to please Him will not be fighting
against our own wills, when God has
taken them and is working them for
us.
Do you not see what happy days are
before you if you will only take God a(
His word about this? Only try Him,
38 Little Pillows.
and you will see! Tell Him that you
have found you can not manage your
will yourself, and that now you will give
it up to Him, and trust Him, from now,
not only to work in you to do, but to
work in you to will also, " according to
His good pleasure."
44 Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
"Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne. 1
t*
12.
"THOU KNOWEST."
"0 Lord, Thou knowest" — Jbb. xv. 15.
THIS little text has been a comfort
to many a sorrowful child, as well
as to older persona Things are not
always bright with the little ones, and
they do not always get as much sympa-
Little Pillows. 39
thy as they want, because their troubles
are not exactly the same sort as those
of grown-up people. Has there been
something of this kind to-day, dear lit-
tle one? Have you felt troubled and
downhearted, and you could not explain
it to any one, and so no one could com-
fort you because no one understood?
Take this little pillow to rest your tired
and troubled little heart upon to-night,
"Thou knowest!" Thou, Lord Jesus,
kind' Shepherd of the weary or wander-
ing little lambs, Thou knowest all about
it! Thou hast heard the words that
made me feel so sad; Thou hast seen
just what happened that troubled me;
Thou knowest what I could not explain,
" Thou understandest my thought ; "
Thou hast been looking down into
my heart all the time, and there is
nothing hid from Thee! Thou know-
est all the truth about it! and Thou
knowest all that I can not put into
words at all!
40 Little Pillows.
Is it not comfort already, just to
know that He knows? And is it not
enough that he knows? Why, you
know that He can do every thing; so,
surely, He can make things come right
for you (really right, not perhaps what
you fancy would be nicest and most
right). And you know that He careth
(that is, goes on caring) for you; so,
if He knows about your trouble, He
cares about it too. And He not only
cares, but loves, so that He would not
have let this trouble touch His dear
child, — wher He knew about it all the
time, — but that He wanted it to be a
little messenger to call you to Him to
be comforted, and to show you that
He is your best Friend, and to teach
you the sweetness of saying, "Thou
knowest ! "
"Jesus is our Shepherd
• Wiping every tear;
Folded in His bosom,
What have we to fear If
Little Pillows. 41
"Only let us follow
Whither He doth lead;
To the thirsty desert,
Or the dewy mead."
13.
OUR COMFORTER.
" When the Comforter is come." — John zt. 26.
LITTLE children often want com-
forting. Something troubles you,
and the grown-up people do not know,
or do not think it is much to be troubled
about, and so nobody comforts you, and
you feel very sad. Sometimes they try,
and yet it does not seem to comfort
you. And sometimes you have even
"refused to be comforted."
What a beautiful name this is for
the Holy Spirit, " The Comforter ! " so
gentle, so kind, so loving. When He
comes He is true to His name, and
42 Little Pillows.
brings sweet comfort even for the little
troubles of His little ones.
Is He come to you? Tour heavenly
Father has promised to give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him. So, if
you ask, He is sure to give. Then ask
that the Holy Spirit may come into
your heart, and dwell there always.
Is He come to you? Are you not
quite sure whether He has come yet,
or not? The rest of this verse tells
you L >w you may know. Jesus said,
"When the Comforter is come, He shall
testify of me." That means, He will tell
you about Jesus; He will put thoughts of
Jesus into your mind, and love to Je-
sus into your heart, and He will make
you see and understand more about
Jesus than you did before. If you are
thinking about Him, and glad to hear
about Him, and trying to please Him,
I think the Comforter is come, and is
beginning to testify of Jesus in you.
Is He come to you ? Then you will
Little Pillows, 43
never be without a Comforter, what-
ever troubles come; if they are little
vexations or disappointments, He can
make you see the bright side, and be
patient, and trustful, and happy; if they
are great troubles, perhaps illness, or
some dear one taken away from you,
still He can so comfort you, that you
will wonder and find out for the first
time what a very precious gift He is,
and what sweet peace can hush your
sorrow "when the Comforter is come."
"Our blest Redeemer, ere He breathed
His tender, last farewell,
A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed,
With us to dwelL
* And His that gentle voice we hear,
1 Soft as the breath of even,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of heaven."
44 Little Pillows.
14.
THE BLIND MAN.
"What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?"
Luke xviiL 41.
ONLY a blind beggar by the wayside ?
But Jesus of Nazareth stood still
when He cried to Him. He could not
grope his way among the crowd, but
Jesus commanded him to be brought
near to Him. He knew why the poor
man had cried out, but He would have
him tell it to Himself. So He said,
"What wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee?" Wonderful question, with a
wonderful promise wrapped up in it !
For it meant that the mighty Son of
God was ready to do whatever this poor
blind beggar asked. What did he ask?
First, just what he most wanted ! Not
what he supposed he ought to ask, nor
, Little nilotvs. 45
what any one had taught him to ask,
nor what other people asked; but sim-
ply what he wanted. Secondly, he asked
straight off for a miracle I He never
stayed to question whether it was like-
ly or not, nor how Jesus of Nazareth
would do it, nor whether it was too
much to ask all at once, nor whether
the people would think him too bold.
He knew what he wanted, and He be-
lieved that Jesus of Nazareth could
do it, and so he asked, and that was
enough.
"And Jesus said unto him, Receive
thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee."
And thai was enough, his prayer of
faith, and Christ's answer of power, for
"immediately he received his sight/*
Was that all? did he go back to beg
by the wayside? No; he "followed ;
Him, glorifying God." What a change
from the cry of only a few minutes be-
fore !
Just one thing more is told us in this
46 Little Pillows.
lovely little story, "And all the people,
when they saw it, gave praise unto God."
8ee what that first cry of "Have mercy
on me," so quickly led to ! "Who would
have Expected a few minutes before" to
have seen him with his eyes open, fol-
lowing Jesus, glorifying God, and caus-
ing a whole crowd to give praise to
God! I think the Lord Jesus says to
you to-night, "What wilt thou that I
shall do unto thee?" What will you
answer Him?
"Pass me not, O tender Saviour !
Let me love and cling to Thee;
I am longing for Thy favor,
When Thou comest, call for me.
Even me."
Little Pillows. 47
15.
"THIS SAME JESUS."
"This same Jesus." — Acts i. 11.
-JESUS CHRIST, the same yester-
I day, and to-day, and forever."
Yes, the very same to you to-night that
He was to the disciples who stood gaz-
ing up into heaven, when, having lifted
up His hands and blessed them, He
went up to the opening gates of glory.
The very same to you to-night that
He was to the little children, when He
took them up in His arms and blessed
them. Not a bit different! Just as
kind, just as loving, just as ready to
take you up too, and bless you, and
keep you always " safe in the arms of
Jesus."
The very same to you to-night that
He was when He said so lovingly,
48 Little Pillows.
" Come unto Me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest" Do you not feel that you would
have loved him ever so much if you
had heard Him say that, and that you
would have gone to Him at once, be-
cause He was so good and kind?
Well, He is "this same Jesus" now.
When you lie down, see how many
sweet and gracious words and deeds
of His you can recollect, and say to
yourself with every one, "He is the
same now, and the same for me I "
Tou are not always the same to Him.
When He comes and knocks at the
door of your heart, you are sometimes
ready to open; and sometimes you give
TTim a cold, short, careless answer; and
sometimes no answer at alL But He is
always the same to you; always ready
to receive you with tender love and
pardon when you come to him.
Perhaps you do not feel so happy
now as you did one day when you felt
Little Pillows. 49
that He was very near and gracious,
and full of forgiving love to you?
What has changed? Only your feel-
ings, not the Lord Jesus. He is always
"this same Jesus"; and you may rest
on this to-night, and forever.
" For this word, Lord, we bless Thee,
For our Saviour's changeless name;
Yesterday, to-day, forever,
Jesus Christ is still the same."
16.
COME AND SEE!
"Come and see."— John i. 39, 46.
THE Lord Jesus said it first He
said it to the two disciples of
John who heard that He was the Lamb
of God. They knew very little about
Him, but they followed Him. Perhaps
they would not even have ventured to
50 Little Pillows.
•
speak, but, "Jesus turned, and saw
them following," and spoke to them.
Then they asked Him where He dwelt,
and He said, " Come and see ! "
Philip said it next He had found
Christ himself, and at once he told his
friend Nathanael about Him, and said,
" Come and see ! "
Is it not said to you to-night? Oh
"Come and see" Jesus I Come and
kneel down before Him, and look up
into His glorious and loving face, and
see what a lovely and precious Saviour
He is! Come and see how kind and
good He is 1 Come and see how ready
He is to receive you, to take you up in
His arms and bless you. Come and
see what He has done for you; see
how He loved you and gave Himself
for you; how He lived, and suffered,
and bled, and died for you! Come
and see what gifts He has for you, for-
giveness and peace, His Spirit and His
grace, His joy and His love! Come
Little Pillows. 51
and see where He dwelleth — see that
He is ready to come in and dwell with
you, to make your little heart His own
dwelling-place. Oh if I could but per-
suade you to " come and see ! " There
is no other sight so glorious and beau-
tiful. Will you not come ?
When you have come, when you can
say like Philip, " We have found Him ! "
and like St. Paul, " We see Jesus," will
you not say to some one else, "Come
and see"? You will wish every one
else to come to Him, and you have His
word to bid you try to bring them:
"Let him that heareth say, Come!"
Will you not say " Come " to some lit-
tle friend or brother or sister, or to any
one to whom He makes you wish to
say it ? There is no sweeter invitation
for you to give than " Come and see I *
the
"Jessie, if yon only knew
What He is to me,
Surely yon would love Him too,
You would " come and see."
t
52 Little Pillows.
"Come, and you will find it true,
Happy you will be !
Josus says, and says to you,
'Come ! Oh come to me t ' "
17.
TELLING JESUS.
"Told Him all things."— Mabk vi. 30.
WHEN you have been out for a day,
what do you look forward to aa
you come home in the evening? Why
do you run so eagerly into the house,
and look so bright? You want to tell
"all about it" to some one whom you
love, — father, or mother, or brothers
and sisters; and you can hardly talk
fast enough to pour it all out. You
begin at the beginning, and tell every
thing (if they will only let you stay up
long enough), — the pleasures and the
mishaps, what has been done, or what
has been said.
Little Pillows. 53
When each day is over, and you go
up to bed, what do you tell Jes j.s? Do
you tell Him every thing too ? Perhaps
you do not tell Him any thing at all;
or perhaps you only tell Him of some-
tliing that you have done wrong, and
are sorry for; you never thought of
such a thing as telling Him every thing!
Yet He loves you better than the dear
ones down-stairs, who listened to aU
your little stories.
"When the apostles had been away,
they "gathered themselves together
•unto Jesus, and told Him all things,
both what they had done, and what
they had taught" Can you not fancy
the gentle, gracious Master listening to
every thing so kindly, so patiently, let-
ting them tell Him all their mistakes
and all their success, all that had made
them glad and all that had made them
sorry? And can you not fancy the dis-
ciples sitting at His feet, and looking
up into His face, and seeing how in-
54 Little Pillows.
terested He was in all they had done,
and not wishing to keep any thing back
from such a dear Master, and finding
their own love to Him growing warmer
and brighter for this sweet hour of talk
with Him ! How different if they had
just said a few cold words to Him, and
never told Him any thing! Try this to-
night 1 It will be such a help, such a
comfort, and before long you will find
it such a joy to tell Jesus every thing I
"Tell Him all the failures,
Tell Him all the sins;
He is kindly listening
Till His child begins.
"Tell Him all the pleasures
Of your merry day,
Tell Him all the treasures
Crowning all your way.'
Little Pillows. 55
18.
CHRIST'S DEATH FOR US.
"Our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for na"
I Thsss. t. 9, 10.
DIED for us? 'Who else ever did as
much for you? who else ever loved
you as much? Only think now, what it
really means, because it is really true;
and surely it is most horribly ungrate-
ful, when one for whom such a great
thing has been done does not even
think about it.
You would think it hard to be pun-
ished for some one else's fault; but
this is exactly what your dear Saviour
did, — let Himself be punished for your
fault instead of you.
Suppose some cruel man were going
to cut off your leg, what would you
think if your brother came and said,
" No ; chop mine off instead ! " But that
56 Little Pillows.
would not be dying foi you. And "our
Lord Jesus Christ died " for you.
It was the very most he could do, t*
show His exceeding great love to you
He was not obliged to go through witl
it; He might have come down from the
cross any moment The nails could not
have kept Him there an instant longer
than He chose; His love and pity were
the real nails that nailed Him fast to
the cross till the very end, till He could
say, "It is finished," till He "died for
us."
It was not only because He loved His
Father that He did it, but because He
loved us; for the text goes on — "Who
died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we might live together with Him."
So He loved us so much that He wanted
us to live together with Him; and as no
sin can enter His holy and beautiful
home, He knew our sins must be taken
away before we could go there. And
only blood could take away sin, only
Little Pillows 57
death could atone for it; and so He
bled, that we might be washed in His
most precious blood; He died, "that,
whether we wake or sleep, we might
live together with Him."
"There is a word I fain would speak,
Jesus died!
O eyes that weep, and hearts that break.
Jesus died !
No music from the quivering string
Gould such sweet sounds of rapture bring;
O may I always love to sing,
Jesus died ! Jesus died ! "
19.
NOTHING, OR EVERY THING?
"Is it nothing to you?" — Lam. L 12.
THIS was said of a great, great sor-
row, which should have touched
the heart of every one who passed by
and saw it, the terrible troubles that
came upon Jerusalem and her children.
58 Little Pillows.
But this was also a type of the far
more terrible cup of sorrow which the
Lord Jesus drank for us, drank it will-
ingly, so that we might drink of the
river of His pleasures. Listen! for it
is as if He said to you and me, " Is it
nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? be-
hold and see if there be any sorrow like
unto my sorrow I "
"Behold and see" how all His life
He was " a Man of sorrows," not hav-
ing where to lay His head; His own
brethren refusing to believe in Him,
the wicked Jews hating Him, and over
and over again trying to kill Him, and
He knowing all the while what awful
suffering was before Him.
" Behold and see " Him in the garden
of Gethsemane, "being in an agony,"
and saying, " My soul is exceeding sor-
rowful, even unto death."
"Behold and see" Him, scourged
and spit upon, led as a lamb to the
slaughter, and then nailed to the cross;
Little Pillows. 59
suffering even unto death, thirsting in
the terrible pain, and yet not drinking
to still it, and saying in the midst of it
all, " My God, my God, why hast Thou
forsaken me ? " Was ever any sorrow
like unto the sorrow that our Lord Je-
sus Christ went through for love of us?
Is it nothing to you ? Can you look at
it and not care about it? Can you
" pass by " and go on just the same as
if He had never loved and suffered ?
Oh, instead of "nothing," let it be
henceforth every thing to you! Let it
be the reason why you hate sin and
why you try to do right; let it be your
peace and joy, your strength and your
song; let it fill your heart with love
and gratitude; let it make you brave
and determined to live for Him who
suffered and died for you.
"See, oh see, what love the Saviour
Also hath on ns bestowed;
How He bled for ns and suffered,
How He bare the heavy load.
60 Little Pillows.
"On the cross and in the garden
Oh how sore was His distress !
Is not this a love that passeth
Anght that tongue can e'er express 1
20.
THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD JESUS.
"Tea, He is altogether lovely." — Sono of
Sol. v. 16.
HE ! We do not need to ask " Who ? "
for these words could only be said
of One, — the Beloved One, the Holy
One, the Blessed One, the Glorious
One ! Only of Jesus, our Lord Jesus,
whom having not seen we love, whom
we shall see one day in all His beauty,
" when He shall come to be glorified in
His saints, and to be admired in all
them that believe ! " Oh if we could
see Him now, as He is at this very
moment, sitting at the right h<md of
Little Pillows. 6l
the Majesty on high, Himself the very
brightness of God's glory, the splendor
would be too great, we should fall at
His feet as dead, as St. John did, un-
less He strengthened us to behold His
glory. But if He laid His right hand
upon us, saying, "Fear not," and we
looked again, what should we see ? Oh
what loveliness! oh what unspeakable
beauty I " Fairer than the children of
men," and "the chiefest among ten
thousand/* is our Lord Jesus! And
in all the glory He is "this same Je-
sus "; although His countenance is now
as the sun shineth in his strength*
there is the gentle smile for His little
children, and the tender kindness for
the sick ones, and the wonderful, won-
derful look of mighty love that would
bring the whole world to His feet if
they could only see it. And there are
scars too, which make His very beauty
more beautiful, for they are scars of
love. He did not lose the print of the
62 Little Pillows.
nails when He rose from the grave, and
the angels and redeemed ones around
Him can see them even now; for even
" in the midst of the throne " He is the
" Lamb, as it had been slain." So the
love has overflowed the glory-, and our
Lord Jesus is " altogether lovely." Our
Lord Jesus! Yes, for the Altogether
Lovely One has given Himself for us,
and given Himself to us; so that even
the least of His Utile ones may look up
and say, " This is my Beloved, and thic
is my Friend I"
4 'Oh Saviour, precious Saviour,
My heart is at Thy feet;
I bless Thee, and I love Thee,
And Thee I long to meet
"To see Thee in Thy beauty,
To see Thee face to face,
To see Thee in Thy glory,
And reap Thy smile of grace I "
Little Pillows. 63;
1 »
21.
THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS.
"Behold, He cometh ! "—Bev. L 7.
DOES this seem a terrible verse? do
you wonder why it should be one
of the "little pillows," and wish the book
had given you a different one to go to
sleep upon to-night? Look at it again:
"J3fe cometh ! " Who ? Jesus Himself,
the "same Jesus" who said, "Come
unto Me." You thought it would be
so nice to come, if you could only see
Him. But you will see Him, for He is
coming.
Think of seeing Him come, so beauti-
ful, so glorious, so "altogether lovely";
Him, the very same dear, kind Saviour,
who loves the little children, who loves
you and has called youl Seeing His
very face; the very brow that was
64 Little Pillows.
crowned with thorns, the very eyes
that looked on Peter, the very lips
that said such wonderful and gracious
things! No longer thinking about Him,
and trying to believe on Him, and pray-
ing to Him, and wishing for Him, but
really seeing Him! Is this terrible?
Does it not rather seem something to
look forward to very much?
Only one thing would make it terri-
ble, and that is, if you will not come to
Him now, and will not let Him wash
away your sins in His precious blood.
Then it would indeed be terrible, for
He would never any more say to you
" Come ! " but only " Depart ! "
But you want Him to wash you clean,
do you not ? and you did try to come
to Him? And you believe He means
what He says, and really died to save
you? Then, oh! shall you not be glad
to see Him ? What if now the cry were
heard, " Jesus is coming ! " Your heart
would beat quick, but I think it would
Little Pillows. 65
be with gladness, not with terror. Je-
sus is coming! Would you not go
forth to meet Him? Jesus is coming!
Could any thing be happier news? I
think we shall not think much about
the sound of the trumpet, and the
clouds of glory, and all the holy an-
gels that come with Him; we shall "see
Jesus," and hear His own voice, and
that will fill our eyes and our hearts
forever.
"Thon art coming, O my Saviour !
Thou art coming, O my King !
In Thy beauty all-resplendent,
In Thy glory all-transcendent,
Well may we rejoice and sing 1 "
66 Little Pillows.
22.
MY KING!
"Now then do it"— H Sam. iii. 18.
DAVID had been anointed king ovei
Israel long before, but the people
did not own him while Saul was their
king. Then after long wars and trou-
bles Saul was killed. But still it was
only Judah who followed David; and
for seven years and a half Israel held
back. At last Abner said to the elders
of Israel, " Ye sought in times past for
David to be king over you, Now then do
it!" And they did it.
Now God has long ago anointed the
Lord Jesus to be our King, but is He
your own king yet? is He reigning in
your heart? Have you ever come to
Him and said, "Thou shalt be my King,
Lord Jesus"?
Little Pillows. 67
Perhaps, like the Israelites, you have
"sought in times past for Him to be
King over you"; you have been wish-
ing He would come and reign, and
put down all the wrong tempers and
naughty thoughts which master you
sometimes like strong rebels. Do you
really wish it? Then that wish is like
a messenger sent to prepare the way
before Him; but wishing is not enough
— "Now then do it!" Now, this very
night, before you go to sleep, tell the
dear Saviour, who has been waiting, to
come and set up His kingdom of peace
and joy in your heart, that He shall
be your King now! Own Him your
King at once; say to Him reverently,
and lovingly, and with all your heart,
" Jesus, my King ! "
Then, when Satan tries to get back,
to his old throne in your heart, tell
him it can not be his ever again, for
you have given it up to your King
Jesus, and that He is to reign there
68 Little Pillows.
always now; and that He will not give
it up, but will fight for you, and put
down all the rebels.
Do not say, "Oh yes, I should like
this very much 1 " and just go to sleep
as usual; but "now then do it!" and
then lie down with the happy thought,
"MyKingl"
<<
Beign over me, Lord Jesus t
Oh make my heart Thy throne !
It shall be Thine, dear Saviour,
It shall be Thine alone.
"Oh oome and reign, Lord Jesus
Rule over every thing !
And keep me always loyal
And true to Thee, my King ,
Little Pillows. 69
23.
CALLED BY NAME.
"I have called thee by thy name."
ISA. tIiii- L,
LOOK out, if it is a clear night, and
see the stars sparkling all over
the sky. You can not count them; no
one can, because there are more than
eyes or telescopes have ever reached.
But "He calleth them all by names,' 1
knows every one separately. And yet,
though He has all those wonderful
worlds of light in His hands, and
"bringeth out their host by number,"
*He turns to say to each of His poor
little weak children on this dark earth,
* I have called thee by thy name." He
knows your name; you are not merely
one of the rest to Him, you are
to Him. Take a pencil and write your
70 Little Pillows.
own name there, it will be perfectly
true!
That name was given vou in Hia
presence, and by His minister, when
you were baptized, in obedience to our
'Saviour's command; that very name is
a token that you are called to be His
own child. God knows it, and calls
you by it.
But He has done more than this.
Why do you care to read this little
book every night ? why do you care to
hear about the things which are " not
seen/ 1 — about Jesus, and salvation, and
heaven? What is it that seems like
a little voice within, persuading you to
seek and love Jesus? That is God's
own voice in your heart, calling you by
name ! For you know it is to you, be-
cause it is only in your own heart; no
one else hears it, no one else even knows
of it. When He calls thus, listen, and
see what else He has to say to you:
" Fear not ; for I have redeemed thee,
Little Pillows. J l
I have called thee by thy name; thou
art mine!".
"Jeans is our Shepherd,
For the sheep He bled;
Every lamb is sprinkled
With the blood He shed.
"Then on each He setteth
His own secret sign;
<Tbey that have My Spirit,
These/ saith He, * are mine.' '
24.
MY JEWELS.
" That day when I make up my jewels."
Mat,, iii. 17.
" TV fl Y jewels! " God tells us who they
1V1 are — "Every one that feared
the Lord, and that thought upon His
name." Then if you fear the Lord,
and think upon His name, you are one
of His jewels, and all that you are go-
*j% Little Pillows.
ing to read about them is for you, and
means you.
" My jewels ! " They are His " special
treasure " (see margin), His very own,
dearer than all other treasures to Him.
We see how very precious they are to
Him by the price He paid for them
For every one of them has been pur-
chased, not with silver and gold (all
the silver and gold in the world would
not have been enough to purchase one
of them), but with the precious blood of
Christ. That was the greatest thing God
had to give, and He gave it for them.
God has found and chosen His jew-
els, and He will never lose them. Ev-
ery one of them is kept safe in the
casket of His everlasting love. He
does not mean to hide them away,
and be ashamed of them; for He says
they shall " be a crown of glory in the
hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem
in the hand of thy God." They are
not all the same, jewels are of many
Little Pillows. 73
different colors and sizes; but the da}
is coming when He will make them
up, — when they will all be gathered
together in His treasury, and shine to-
gether in His glorious crown, and not
one will be forgotten, or overlooked,
or lost, for every one is "precious in
His sight."
Is it not a grand thing to be one of
God's jewels? How very wonderful
that He should give such a beautiful
name to His poor, sinful, worthless
children, and set such shining hopes
before them! Ought we not to try
to walk worthy of this high and holy
calling?
"Sons of Zion, ye are precious
In your heavenly Father's sight;
Ye are His peculiar treasure,
And His jewels of delight
"Sought and chosen, cleansed and polished,
Purchased with transcendent cost,
Kept in His own royal casket,
Never, never to be lost."
/4 Little Pillows.
25.
ALWAYS MORE!
14 He giveth more grace." — Jab. iv. 6.
\7ES, always more! And if He haa
I given any at all, it is a certain
proof that He will give more; for over
and over again the Lord Jesus said,
"Whosoever hath, to him shall be giv-
en." So, if He has given you a little
grace, just enough to wish for more,
you shall have more; and then when
He has given you more, that will be
the very reason why you may expect
more stilL Is it not nice to be always
looking forward to "grace for grace"?
Then, as you grow older, and the lit-
tle vessel grows larger, He will keep on
pouring more grace into it You will
outgrow many things, but you will never
outgrow this rich and precious supply.
Little Pillows. 75
" He giveth more grace " than we ask.
If He Lad given us only what we asked,
we should never have had any at all,
for it is His grace that first of all make
us wish, and teaches us to ask for it
And He says, " Open thy mouth wide,
and I will fill it." Then open it wide I
ask Him to fill you with His grace.
" He giveth more grace " than all our
need. It never runs short Whatever
our need is, there is quite enough grace
for it, and then "more" too! alwayx
more. If our need seems to become
greater, we shall find the grace greater
too, if we will but go to Him who giv-
eth it; if the enemies that we are try-
ing to fight against seem stronger than
ever, we shall certainly find His grace
stronger too, if we will only ask it, and
take it, and use it.
We can never overtake this promise,
much less outrun it; for however little
we have, or however much we want,
now this moment, and on to the end
76 Little Pillows.
of our lives, it is always, always, " He '
giveth more grace ! "
''Have yon on the Lord believed?
Still there's more to follow;
Of His grace have yon received?
Still there's more to follow.
Oh the grace the Father shows !
Still there's more to follow;
Freely He His grace bestows,
Still there's more to follow.
"More and more ! more and more !
Always more to follow !
Oh His matchless, boundless love
Still there's more to follow I"
Little Pillows. 77
26.
SATISFIED.
"Shall never thirst"— John iv. 14.
WHEN you have had a treat or a
pleasure, do not you begin to
wish for another ? When you look over
your playthings or your books (which-
ever you happen to care most for), have
you not said, " If I only had just this,
or just that besides"? And even some
favored little ones who hardly know
what to wish for, because they seem
to have every thing, have not enough
to make them quite happy; they want
something, without knowing what they
want. Is not this something like feel-
ing thirsty?
And when you get the very thing you
most wanted, it does not make much
78 Little Pillows.
difference, for you very soon want some-
thing else; you are "thirsty" again.
The Lord Jesus knows all about this,
« and so He said, "Whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again; but
whosoever drinketh of they water that
I shall give him, shall never thirst"
First, you see you are quite sure to
"thirst again"; it is no use expecting
to find any thing earthly that will satis-
fy you. Secondly, Jesus has something
to give you which will make you quite
satisfied and glad. Thirdly, as long as
you go on drinking this; you will be al-
ways satisfied and glad. Fourthly, you
can not get it from any one or any thing
else. Jesus gives it, and Jesus only.
Fifthly, it must be meant for you, be-
cause He says "whosoever," and that
means "any body that likes!" And
He says, "Ho, every one that thirst-
eth, come ye to the waters!" And,
" If any man thirst, let him come unto
me and drink." And, "I will give
Little Pillows. 79
unto him that is athirst of the foun-
tain of the water of life freely."
Will you not say to Him, like the
poor woman at the well, " Lord Jesus,
give me this water, that I thirst not ! n
Listen to his kind answer! "Drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved ! "
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Behold, I freely give
The living water ; thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.
"I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived.
And now I live in him."
8o Little Pillows. s
27.
OUR SURETY.
.... * ^
"1 will be surety for him."— Gen. xliii. 9.
J UP AH, the elder brother, promised
his father to bring Benjamin safely'
back from Egypt. He undertook this
entirely. He said, "I will be surety
for him; of my hand shalt thou require
him: if I bring him not unto thee, and
set him before thee, then let me bear
the blame forever." And his father
trusted Judah to do as he had said,
and so Judah was surety for Benjamin.
Jesus Christ is Surety for us. He,
our Elder Brother, undertakes to bring
us safely to the house of His Father
and our Father. He undertakes to
present us before the presence of Hia
glory. We are in His hand, and from
Little Pillows. 8i
His hand God will require us and re 1 -
ceive us. And God, who so loves His
children, has trusted the Lord Jesus
to do this. He has given us to Him,
and He has accepted Jesus Christ as
our Surety.
Now, if God has trusted Him, will
not you trust Him too? What! hesi-
tate about trusting Jesus? Whom else
could you trust ? Who else could un-
dertake to bring you safe to heaven?
Benjamin might possibly have found
his way by himself from Egypt to
Canaan; but never, never could you
find the way by yourself from earth to
heaven; and never, never could any one
but the Lord Jesus bring you there.
Benjamin could not be quite certain
.that his brother could keep his prom-
ise, for Judah was only a man, and
might have been killed in Egypt But
you may be quite certain that your
Elder Brother can keep His promise,
for He is God as well as man. And do
82 Little Pillows.
you think He would break His prom-
ise? He, the Faithful Saviour, break
His promise ? Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but His word shall not pass
away!
Then trust Him now, and never wrong
His faithful love again by leaving off
trusting Him. He is our Surety, and
He will bring every one who trusts
Him safe to the heavenly Canaan.
" Jesus, I will trust Thee, trust Thee with my
soul!
Guilty, lost, and helpless, Thou canst make
me whole 1
Jesus, I do trust Thee, trust without a
doubt !
Whosoever cometh, Thou wilt not cast
out' "
Little Pillows. 83
28.
OUR FORERUNNER.
"He shall go over before." — Deut. iii. 28.
T OSHUA was a type of Christ in many
I things. God gave him to be "a
leader and commander of the people. 1 *
He was their captain in war, and their
saviour from their enemies.
In this verse God told Moses that
Joshua should go over before the peo-
ple into Canaan, and "cause them to
inherit the land."
This is what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done for us. He has gone before,
in front of, the great army of the living
God who have crossed or have yet to
cross the river of death. His blessed
feet have passed th#t river, and made
the crossing easy for us, so that the
84 Little Pillows.
dark waters shall never overflow one
of us, not even a little child.
He has gone before us into the beau
tiful land to prepare the many man*
sions for us. He is there, waiting for
us, ready to give us His own most
sweet and gracious welcome to His
own fair country, as soon as our feet
have crossed the river.
Will you fear to go where Jesus has
gone before? Will you fear to go
where He is? You know you must
die. You know that even little chil-
dren die who are much younger than
you. And very likely you do not like
to think about dying. I do not think
you need think at all about lying cold
and dead and being put in the grave.
When that does come, it will not mat-
ter to you in the least. If Jesus is
your Saviour, if He takes away your
sins, death will only be like being car-
ried in a minute across a narrow stream,
and meeting the loving and glorious
Little Pillows. 85
One on the other side, where He is
gone over before. Nay, rather, He will
come and fetch you Himself into the
"pleasant land," and He will "cause
you to inherit" it, so that it will be
your own land, your own beautiful and
holy and glorious home forever.
"Praying for His children,
In that blessed place,
Calling them to glory,
Sending them His grace*
"His bright home preparing
Little ones, for yon;
Jesus ever liveth,
Ever loveth too."
86 Little Pillows.
29.
"PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE."
"At Thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore."— Ps. xvi. 11.
YOU never had a pleasure that lasted.
You look forward to a great pleas-
ure, and it comes, and then very soon
it is gone, and you can only look back
upon it. The very longest and pleas-
antest day you ever had came to an
end, and you had to go to bed and
know that it was over.
How different are the pleasures at
God's right hand! They are for ever-
more, and you can not get to the end
or see to the end of "evermore," for
there is no end to it
And you see it is not one pleasure
only, but "pleasures" as manifold as
they are unending. Do you not won-
Little Pillows. 87
der what they will be? We can not
even guess at most of them; and if we
thought and imagined the brightest
and best that we possibly could, we
should still find, when we reached
heaven, that God's " pleasures " for us
were ever so much greater and better
than we thought
We can tell a few things about them.
They will be holy pleasures, never
mingled with any sin. They will be
perfect pleasures, with nothing what-
ever to spoil them. They will be last-
ing pleasures, for to-night's text says
so. They will be abundant pleasures,
as many as we can possibly wish, for
David says (Ps. xxxvi. 8), " They shall
be abundantly satisfied with the fatness
of Thy house, and Thou shalt make
them drink of the river of Thy pleas-
ures." They will be always freshly-
flowing pleasures, for they are a river,
not a little pool. They will be pleas-
ures given by God Himself to us, for it
88 Little Pillows.
does not say "they shall drink/' but
"Thou shalt make them drink of the
river of Thy pleasures."
And all these " God hath prepared M
for you. ' Is He not good and kind ?
" Angel voices sweetly singing,
Echoes through the bine dome ringing,
News of wondrous gladness bringing,
Ah, 'tis heaven at last !
"Not a tear-drop ever falleth,
Not a pleasure ever palleth,
Song to song forever calleth;
Ah, 'tis heaven at last t "
little Pillows. 89
30.
THE GREAT PROMISE.
This is the promise that He hath promised
us, even eternal life." — I John ii. 25.
AS the gift of the Holy Spirit was
specially " the promise of the Fa-
ther," so it seems that the gift of eter-
nal life was specially the promise of the
Lord Jesus. If you look in the Gospel
of St. John, you will find that He prom-
ised it not only once or twice, but fif-
teen times ! So no wonder Si John in
his Epistle calls it " the promise which
He hath promised us."
If you made me a promise, even if
you said it only once, you would ex-
pect me to believe it, would you not?
And you would be vexed and hurt if
I would not believe ii It would seem
go Little Pillows.
as if I thought you were not speaking
the truth. And suppose I did not say
whether I believed it or not, but sim-
ply took no notice at all of what you
said, would not that be quite as bad ?
Now when the Lord Jesus Himself
has made us a great promise, does He
not expect us to believe it ? Surely it
grieves Him more than any thing when
we will not believe His kind words.
And it seems almost worse when we
do not take any notice of them, but go
on just the same as if He had never
promised any thing at alL
So you see it is not only that you
may believe this great promise of the
Lord Jesus, but that you ought to be-
lieve it, and that you are wronging His
love and grieving His heart as long as
vou do not believe it
No matter that you do not deserve
it; that is true enough! but He has
promised it !
No matter that it seems "too good
Little Pillows. 91
to be true"; for be has promised it!
No matter that you don't feel as if you
had got it yet, — He has promised it !
Only ask Him to give you faith like
Abraham's, who was " fully persuaded
that what He had promised He was
able also to perform," so that you may
say joyfully, " This is the promise that
He hath promised me, even eternal
life!"
"Life alone is found in Jesus,
Only there 'tis offered thee,
Offered without price or money,
"lis the gift of God sent free.
Take salvation !
lake it now and happy be I "
92 Little Pillows.
31.
CERTAINTY.
•'Hath He said, and shall He not do it!"
Num. xxiii. 19.
WE have been thinking, night after
night, of some of our Father's
promises, and very likely you have
been hoping and wishing that they
would come true for you. But being
quite sure is better and happier than
hoping and wishing, is it not? Now,
how may you be quite sure that aD
these "exceeding great and precious
promises" will come true for you?
Just simply because God has spoken
them! and "hath He said, and shall
He not do it?" Of course he will!
Surely that is enough !
If your father had promised to give
you a great treat, would you go about
in a dismal way, saying, " Yes, it would
Little Pillows. 93
be very nice ? I hope papa will do it 1 "
Would he be pleased at that ? But if
you came again, and reminded him of
his promise, and he answered, " I have
said it, and do you suppose I shall not
do it?" what a silly child you would
be if you still looked dismal, and went
on only "hoping" he might do it!
And what an ungrateful and unbeliev-
ing child you would be if you did not
say brightly, " Thank you, dear papa ! "
and show him how glad you were about
it, and try your very best to be good
and please him all day, because he
had made you such a kind and sure
promise!
When you read the Bible, or hear it
read; keep looking out for God's prom-
ises. They are scattered all over the
Bible, like beautiful bright stars. Then,
every time you come to one of them,
say to yourself, This will come true for
me, for "hath He said, and shall He
not do it?"
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